


The Beginning Of Hope

by itsinthestars



Category: Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Bathtubs, Confession, F/M, Family, Fluff, Friendship, Gendrya - Freeform, Kisses, One Shot, Relief, Romance, another big hug, mild help with washing, needed to write something to ease emotions of past episode, post 8x05
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-19
Updated: 2019-05-19
Packaged: 2020-03-07 20:54:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18881062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsinthestars/pseuds/itsinthestars
Summary: Arya chose to live. Her reunion with Gendry brings unsaid words to each other that could lead to something resembling hope.





	The Beginning Of Hope

**Author's Note:**

> I will most likely write one last one shot, depending on how 8x06 goes...Yeah. I personally have strong feelings on how 8x05 went (8x04 too). Along with Arya, Gendry, Sansa, Theon, Brienne, Jon, and many others...Daenerys is one of my favorite characters...So I'm just disappointed and sad where they took her character...Yeah there are a lot of feelings there...But in this one shot, I write more about how Arya and Gendry are feeling from the impact of what happened at King's Landing versus writing anything that is currently happening at the capital.

The sun had just started to set, when Arya finally arrived at Storm's End. She smelled and breathed in the sea air, as she felt the wind touch her face. She could hear the waves below, crashing against the castle. There were still many feet between her and the front gates. Arya rubbed her white horse's neck as she looked ahead at the closed entrance.

She looked away, and the image of the mother and daughter came back to her. She remembered how she saw them still hold each other. When she saw them, something broke inside her. Everything she experienced that day at King's Landing changed her. It started with Sandor's last words to her... _You wanna be like me_?... _You come with me, you die here_... Arya closed her eyes. She didn't want to die there even though for years she wanted to end the life of the woman that caused so much of her family's pain. She wanted that revenge badly, until realizing in that moment with Sandor, she could _live_...

"Arya?" She heard that familiar voice whisper her name. She opened her eyes and saw the gate was open, and Gendry was walking to her, with concern and relief on his face. Before he could reach her, Arya jumped down and before he could react any further, she walked those couple of steps to him and wrapped her arms around his waist. A tear ran down her cheek as she felt Gendry hold her just as tight as she was holding on to him. The waves were the only sound heard for a moment before Gendry said near her ear, "I know what happened..." Arya closed her eyes, her brows furrowed, as if trying to close out the utter terror that she saw happen a few days ago. The thing was she could never forget what she saw, smelled, and heard. She knew it would stay with her for a long time. She was about to respond before Gendry released a deep sigh and then murmured, "I'm relieved you're alive."

Without saying anything, but saying as much as she could right then, she squeezed him, resting her chin on his shoulder. She looked ahead at a man holding the reins to her horse, both walking inside the gate. Arya closed her eyes again. She needed this embrace from someone she loved, so she held on to him for a while longer...  

Later, Arya was in a bedroom set up for her. The fireplace had a fire crackling. She was in a bathtub, her arms rested on top of each side. She leaned against the tub, eyes closed. After days of traveling almost nonstop, she felt her whole body soothed by the lukewarm water. Just as she felt sleep take her, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," she said with ease. She knew who was on the other side.

Gendry opened the door, and once he saw her, he quickly looked away. He gulped before he said, "I'll come back later." He turned--

"Please, stay with me." Arya called out, a look of concern was on her face. Gendry turned back to her, paused before he walked to her. He got down on his knees, next to the tub. Arya stared into his eyes calmly as Gendry almost had a guarded expression but leaned forward...Their lips were close to each other, his breath lingered with hers... But he then moved his lips and kissed her cheek softly, before he leaned back. Arya half smiled, feeling just a bit dissatisfied with that kiss. "Can you pour water on my back?" She looked at him, again with concern that he would refuse, but all he did was nod and retrieved the pitcher and soap from a stool nearby. He got up and walked to the end of the tub, near her feet. He dipped his finger in the water, and checked its temperature. Arya looked on and felt slightly relieved that he felt that sort of concern. Gendry filled the pitcher with water and walked to the back of the tub, behind Arya.

She leaned forward and felt the trickle of water land on her back. She instantly felt satisfied and moaned quietly. She heard Gendry gulp loudly and that made her grin. She was going to lean back when she felt the soap at her back. Gendry gently moved it in circles at her shoulders, and around her back. She whispered, "Thank you." Gendry didn't respond but continued to wash her back, and trickled more water on her skin. There was almost a moment of silence before—

"I don't think I can keep this title." Gendry finally said. He put the empty pitcher on the floor, went back on his knees, and handed Arya the soap. She washed her arms as she listened to him. Gendry looked down at the floor before he met Arya's stare. "After what's happened at King's Landing...And who gave me this title...It feels wrong to have."

Arya looked at him intently, "There's something else, isn't there?"

Gendry almost looked defeated but said, "I meant it. All of this would mean nothing without you..." He looked away as if trying to find the next words to say. He looked back at Arya, with determination on his face, as if he finally found the strength to say the next words. "When I proposed marriage that night, I thought that and my new title was something I finally had to offer you. I thought I was finally good enough to really be with you."

At those words, Arya felt her eyes tear up. She brought her hand to his cheek. He stared back, so much emotion in his eyes, she felt wrapped in them. She slowly shook her head, "You're so stupid." Before Gendry could say anything else, she put her thumb on his lips, "You are the most experienced blacksmith I know. You showed that even more at Winterfell. You are a fighter and survived the long night." She started to grin as she said, "You didn't ever need to feel you needed something to offer me...Because...You already had me, Gendry. Your kindness, determination, and friendship helped us survive all those years ago." Arya said these last words with sincerity, "You were my family then...And continue to be my family now." She smiled and started to caress his cheek. Gendry looked touched at her words and kissed her thumb in response. He leaned forward and finally touched his lips with hers. Arya dropped the soap into the water and placed her hand on his other cheek. She kissed him deeper when she felt his hand at her back. He gently traced her skin with his fingers.

He suddenly moved his lips away, inches from hers. "I should let you finish your bath and we'll eat afterwards—"

"I think you should undress now and get in here with me." She raised her left brow at him, "Later, I'll make sure you're using a fork properly."

Gendry smiled, the first smile she had seen on him since she arrived. He leaned towards her again, their foreheads touched before they kissed again with everything they had. With this, Arya felt something new occur between them, almost like the beginning of a new chapter with hope.  

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading :)


End file.
